Pakis​tan India​ Nucle​ar War At The Brink​

[Mrs. Sharon B. Hodge]

Pakis​tan India​ Nucle​ar War At The Brink​



December 23, 2008 Foreign Matters: India Pakistan and Rumours of War


India's Agni III missile is seen during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi January 26, 2008

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Pakistan, India troop strength, deployments
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Reuters
Dec 29, 2008

http://in. reuters. com/article/topNews/idINIndia-37219720081229

REUTERS – Tension between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan has risen sharply after last month's militant attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 179 people

Although most analysts say war is very unlikely, international unease is growing

Following are estimates of military strength of Pakistan and India, as well as some information about where troops are believed to be deployed:

PAKISTAN

Defence budget: Pakistan increased defence spending by nearly 7 percent in June to 296 billion rupees ($4.
4 billion) for the 2008-09 fiscal year that began on July 1

Estimated nuclear warheads: 25 to 50

Troops: about 620,000 active; about 515,000 reserves; about 290,9000 paramilitary troops

Equipment: about 2,460 tanks, about 2,000 artillery pieces; about 1,250 armoured personnel carriers.
The air force has about 415 combat aircraft while the navy has 8 submarines, 7 surface combatants

Missile types and ranges: Shaheen 1 (600 km/375 miles), Shaheen 2 (up to 2,000 km/1,200 miles), Ghauri 1 (1,500/940 miles) Ghauri 2 (2,300 km/1,440 miles), Hatf 1 (100 km/63 miles), Hatf 2 (180 km/110 miles), Hatf 3 (290 km/180 miles), Babur cruise missile (500 km/310 miles)

Deployment: The military does not publish information about the deployment of troops but it has said about 100,000 soldiers, from both the army and paramilitary forces, have been on the western border with Afghanistan

The remainder are stationed at bases around the country, many of them near the so-called Line of Control, that divides the Kashmir region, and near the international border with India that runs south to the Arabian Sea

Pakistani military officials have said a "limited number" of soldiers have been moved off the Western border, from snow-bound areas and areas where operations were not being conducted, "for defensive measures"

Military officials have officially denied any build-up of forces on the Indian border though a security official said some troops had been moved there

Residents of areas near the border India have not reported any sign of troop movements and travellers have not reported seeing large military convoys on roads leading to the Indian border

INDIA

Defence budget: India increased defence spending by 10 percent in February to $26.
5 billion for the 2008-09 fiscal year

India plans to spend $30 billion over the next four years to modernise its largely Soviet-era arms Estimated nuclear warheads: 70-100

Troops: India's military strength stands at 1.
3 million, the fourth largest in the world and growing in strength with thousands recruited every year

Equipment: The army has around 4,000 tanks; 4,500 artillery and 300 armored personnel carriers and a combat aircraft strength of around 700

The Indian Navy has one aircraft carrier, 16 submarines, eight destroyers and 16 frigates

Missile types and ranges: Agni 1 (2,500 km/1,560 miles), Agni 2 (3,000 km/1,875 miles; upgraded, up to 3,500 km/2,190 miles), Prithvi SS-150 (150 km/94 miles), Prithvi SS-250 (250 km/156 miles)

Deployment: The Indian military does not give information about deployment of troops but has said its troops are on standby and presently stationed at bases around the country.
India also has a huge military presence near the Line of Control

India says it has made no new deployments since the Mumbai attacks



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India, Pakistan Pick up the Red Phone
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Wired
By Nathan Hodge
December 29, 2008

http://blog. wired. com/defense/2008/12/india-pakistan. html

While the shooting war intensifies in Gaza, an armed standoff continues in South Asia. Over the past several days, the armies of India and Pakistan have been on high alert. Pakistan has reportedly pulled troops from the Afghan frontier to redeploy them to the border with India.
And India has refused to rule out military action in response to last month's terror attacks in Mumbai

Tensions have been running high between the two nuclear-armed nations since the wave of coordinated attacks that rocked India's commercial capital. India blamed the attacks on Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant group based in Pakistan.
The Pakistani government has denied any involvement

Over the weekend, the generals in charge of military operations spoke over the Cold War-style hotline that was set up between the two countries to reduce the risk of accidental nuclear war. The Hindu newspaper confirmed an "unscheduled" hotline conversation Sunday between India's director-general of military operations and his Pakistani counterpart.
The two countries hold a regular conversation over the hotline on Tuesdays; according to Indian press reports, the hotline call was "unprecedented"

The two countries, one hopes, have moved past the crisis point The Christian Science Monitor notes that more countries have stepped in to try to defuse tensions: China's foreign minister urged both countries to "properly handle" the situation; Saudi Arabia's foreign minister paid a visit to New Delhi this weekend; and Russia, which wields major influence in India, also urged restraint.